


simpler times

by fluffysfics



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Canon Divergence, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff, M/M, Post-Episode: s12e10 The Timeless Children, good ol’ pure soft fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:33:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24325096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluffysfics/pseuds/fluffysfics
Summary: The Doctor catches a rare moment where the Master is still asleep, and the sight has her reminiscing about their distant past together.
Relationships: The Doctor | Theta Sigma/The Master | Koschei (Doctor Who: Academy Era), Thirteenth Doctor/The Master (Dhawan)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 65





	simpler times

**Author's Note:**

  * For [everythingisconnected](https://archiveofourown.org/users/everythingisconnected/gifts).



The Doctor rolled over, moving slowly and carefully enough that she wouldn’t disturb her bed partner. He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping, none of the usual careful tension present on his face. 

She sat up a little and rested her chin on one hand, gaze lingering on the Master’s features. He had a very _nice_ face this time around, even if she couldn’t see her personal favourite part of it- his eyes- right now. 

Awake, he always looked so guarded; even now, even after they’d decided to stick together. In his sleep, his features were relaxed in a way she...hadn’t actually seen them since they were young. Huh. She’d seen him relaxed so _often_ in their youth that somehow the sight in front of her now was utterly familiar, despite all the many years and many faces that it had been since she’d seen it last. 

Sighing contentedly, the Doctor nestled her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes again. Nothing to do, nowhere to be, and for once in her lives she could remember their childhood together without feeling miserable about everything they’d lost. She could afford to stay here a little longer. Reminisce, perhaps, until the Master woke up too. 

——

It’s almost the middle of the day when Theta wakes up. No classes today, no homework- well, plenty of homework, but nothing he’s going to worry about _immediately_ -, and he fell asleep in Koschei’s bed last night. 

He shifts, and discovers bright blue eyes already open and gazing down at him. Theta has seen the sternness those eyes can wield, the sheer force of will that could have anyone moving out of Koschei’s way in an instant. Right now, his gaze is softer than the sheets they’re both curled up in, looking at him with an almost uncharacteristic fondness. 

Theta beams at him, and Koschei blinks, gaze suddenly coming back into focus. Still soft, but just a touch more bright and alert. 

“Hi,” he says, pressing a kiss against Koschei’s cheek. “You been awake long?”

“An hour, at least. You were really worn out, hm?” A teasing elbow nudges Theta in the ribs. 

“And whose fault is that?” 

“Mine.” Koschei grins, pulling Theta up on top of him for a kiss. Neither of them are fully dressed; they’re sort of wearing their robes, but only _vaguely_ , and Theta is sure that if he could drag his attention away from Koschei for a second, he’d see the rest of their clothes scattered all over the floor. 

“Least you admit it.” He runs one hand through his own wild mess of blond curls, a vague attempt at stopping them from falling into his face. It doesn’t work, and Koschei laughs, reaching up to help him tuck the wayward strands back into place. 

“Of course I admit it. You have more energy than anyone I’ve ever seen, wearing you out is an achievement to boast about.” Koschei takes his hand, and Theta feels a finger absently tapping a soft four-beat rhythm against the back of his knuckles. 

“Rude. I’m _sure_ that’s rude.” Theta pouts, not offended in the slightest, but always keen for an opportunity to tease. 

“Me? Rude? _Never_.” Koschei lifts Theta’s hand to his lips, pressing a slow kiss to each knuckle in turn. “I’ll have you know, people find me _very_ charming. They practically throw themselves at me. Shame I only have eyes for _one_ person.” He tugs on Theta’s arm, and Theta finds himself pitching forwards, catching himself just before falling right into Koschei. 

They’re maybe an inch apart now, Theta’s eyes wide with surprise even though they really _shouldn’t_ be, he should have gotten used to his friend’s antics by now. Is _friend_ the right word to use? Hardly. They’re much closer than that, but any other word doesn’t quite seem to do it justice. 

Koschei grins into the gap between them, eyes sparkling with mischief, and drags him down into a kiss. 

Somehow, Theta doubts they’ll make it out of bed for at _least_ another few hours. 

——

The twin suns are hot against Theta’s face, the citadel cutting a striking sight against the sky in front of him. That world of school and politics and expectations feels so very far away right now. His head is resting on Koschei’s stomach, he’s laid out in the long grass, and there’s a hand stroking at his hair; for the moment, those are the only things in the whole wide universe that matter to him. 

“...and that’s how you calculate the interior volume of a TARDIS,” Koschei says, and the hand stops running through his hair. Theta blinks up at him, offended that he dare stop doing something so nice. Koschei looks at him, and at the book he’s been reading from for the last twenty minutes, and sighs. “You haven’t been listening to me, have you?”

“You’re very distracting,” Theta offers in his defence. “I can hear your hearts beating from here. And you kept doing that nice thing where you scratch right behind my ears, so- ohhh...” Koschei does the thing again, and Theta’s excuses cut off into a very pleased sigh. 

“You have to learn this material if you want to pass the exam tomorrow,” Koschei reminds him. Theta pulls a face. 

“You can always just let me get the answers from you with telepathy again. We’re good at that.”

“We are,” Koschei admits. “But if we get caught, we could be expelled from the Academy. Besides, I might not always be around to help you like that.”

Theta pulls even more of a face, and sits up properly. “Why wouldn’t you always be around? Planning on going somewhere without me?”

Koschei blinks, like he hadn’t really considered the implications of his words. “Well, I-“ He tilts his head. “I don’t know. I don’t _want_ to, but...who knows where I’m going to end up?” Something dark flashes across his face for a second, like he knows something that Theta doesn’t. 

Oh, Theta definitely isn’t having this nice afternoon ruined by existential angst. 

“Hey,” he says firmly, scooting closer until he’s right in Koschei’s face. He steals a kiss. “You’re not going _anywhere_ without me. Understood?”

Koschei takes a breath to start saying something that Theta is reasonably sure will be a disagreement, so he clamps a hand over his friend’s mouth instead of letting him talk. 

“Mmf,” Koschei says, giving him a _look_. Theta is very good at letting Koschei’s _looks_ run off of him like water. 

“You’re not going anywhere without me. The two of us, we’re going to stick together. We’re going to get out of here, one day, and we’re going to see all the stars. All of them. And there’ll be no tests to worry about, no Borusa, no Time Lords- just us, in a TARDIS, together. I promise you that, Koschei Oakdown, and I’m not gonna break my promise. Go on, you promise too.”

He removes his hand from Koschei’s mouth. 

“You’re going to have to learn to _fly_ a TARDIS first, you kn-“ 

Theta swats him on the arm. Koschei’s gaze softens, and he sighs, and he smiles. 

“Fine. I promise you, Theta Sigma Lungbarrow, that we’re going to see the stars together.”

“Good.” Theta leans in for another kiss, then pulls back, scooting away again until he could rest his head in the same comfy spot it had been in before. “...Could you go over all that physics stuff again? Promise I’ll listen this time.”

“It’s transcendental geometry more than physics, really,” Koschei says, rolling his eyes. “But- fine. Only because you’re far too sweet to refuse.”

Theta beams up at him, and closes his eyes, listening to the whisper of wind in the long grass around them, and Koschei’s voice as it starts up explaining again. 

It’s a shame, he thinks, that he can’t lie here forever. 

——

The Doctor wasn’t sure how long had passed by the time she dragged herself back out of her daydreams. Enough time that the Master was awake, and one of his hands was running gently through her hair. 

“Morning,” she murmured. “I was wondering when you were going to wake up.”

“I think you’ll find that I’ve been awake for half an hour, Doctor.” The Master tapped the top of her head, and she pouted at him. 

“I’ve been awake longer. You were just _lazy_ , still sleeping when I woke up, so I had to start daydreaming.” She nudged him in the ribs. 

“Pretty sure I heard you snore ten minutes ago.” The Master smirked. “Daydreaming about anything interesting?”

The Doctor hesitated. Nice as all of those childhood memories were, she...wasn’t sure how he would take hearing about them now, in the wake of- everything. Their long, long history together, all these new revelations that her history was even _longer_ \- 

“I was thinking about us,” she said, deciding for once that no, fuck worrying, she was going to be optimistic. “Childhood. We were sweet back then.”

The Master hummed, his hand pausing in her hair. The Doctor bit her lip, worry creeping in despite how she’d just told it not to. Then, his hand moved again, scratching behind her ear just how she’d liked it when they were young. She relaxed, finding a smile creeping across her face. 

“Guess we _were_ sweet. Simpler times,” he murmured, and the Doctor nodded. She closed her eyes again, arms snaking around the Master to hold him a little tighter. 

“Remember when we promised we’d see the stars together?” It was one of her very fondest memories, and bringing it up now felt somewhat like exposing a raw nerve. The Master could ruin it, if he said the wrong thing; she was putting her trust in him that he wouldn’t. 

“Yeah.” He sighed, and then tilted his head, clearly thinking. “We never got around to that. Although...”

She smiled, knowing that he was having the same thought as her, and pressed her lips against the side of his neck. “We’re together, we can see the stars _now_. Just us, in my TARDIS, together. Even sharing a bed like we used to. Hey- remember how I’d have to sneak out of your room in the mornings?”

“I remember how often you made me stay in bed for most of the day because you didn’t want to get up, actually,” the Master said, teasing. 

“Can you _blame_ me? Not like the outside world was ever going to beat what you could do to me behind closed doors.” 

He snickered, shifting so that the Doctor found herself resting on top of him in a very familiar position. She reached up, cupping his face, running a hand through his hair, and the Master almost _purred_. 

“Bet I could do the same things to you now,” he murmured. 

“I don’t doubt that,” the Doctor said, her voice just as low as his. She leaned down for a kiss, and the Master met her lips eagerly, bringing a hand up to rest on the back of her neck. She smiled, and pulled away. “ _But_.” 

“But?”

“But, I want breakfast first. I like breakfast foods, this time around. We could have bacon. Or pancakes. Bacon pancakes? Pretty sure that’s an Earth thing.”

The Master groaned, letting his head fall back against the pillow. He laughed, and the Doctor felt her hearts leap at the sight of it. Even now, travelling together, he rarely looked so carefree. It gave her hope, something she hadn’t often felt this regeneration. Hope that things really were going to be okay now. That they really would see the stars together. 

“You’re _ridiculous_ , love.”

She just beamed at him. “You wouldn’t have me any other way.” 

**Author's Note:**

> oh my god, Fluffy wrote fluff? what IS this......
> 
> hope y’all enjoyed this departure from my usual hurt/comfort and angst! comments and kudos greatly appreciated as ever <3


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